1,000 Paper Cranes Of Murder?
by DeMarcos
Summary: Shawn needs to apologize to Lassiter. His plan is genius and works... And makes him the lead suspect in a rash of serial killings. Slash, Shassi. You were warned. REVISED 2011!


Title: 1,000 Paper Cranes…. Of Murder?

Author: DeMarcos

Rating: M

Pairing: Shawn/Lassiter (established)

Disclaimer: This crap (motions down to the story) IS. NOT. MINE.

Summary: Shawn needs to apologize to Lassiter. His plan is genius and works ….. And makes him the lead suspect in a rash of serial killings.

Notes: Testing the new fandom waters. Been cruising this livejournal community (psychslash...a shameless plug) for awhile getting the feel for it. I wanted to post this there, but since I have a major grudge against livejournal, I can't because I refuse to join. So here is good too. Not a big craving for m/m stories, but I'm not here to please the many. I thought of this while I was at work. Don't ask me how, I just have a natural talent for free association. And while I work at a porn store, I have no flair for writing smut (the irony is killing me), so please feel free to hate on it if it really sucks.

* * *

**Santa Barbara - 1988**

_The first thing that Henry Spencer saw as he walked out the sliding glass door onto the back porch was his son Shawn standing over his defenseless piggy bank with a ball peen hammer, his friend Gus desperately trying to haul Shawn away from the ceramic swine._

"_Shawn! What the hell are you doing?" _

_The sound of his fathers' voice stopped Shawn mid swing, causing Gus to slam into his back. Both boys went tumbling onto the grass, missing the piggy bank by a foot. Henry walked down the porch stairs into the yard, headed over to the boys and extended his hands to them. After pulling themselves to their feet, they at least had the good taste to appear ashamed of being caught arguing over a pink pig._

_Henry yanked the hammer from Shawn's hand and used it to motion between the two boys. "Now that that's out of your system, which one of you would like to explain to me what is going on?" Gus opened his mouth to speak but Shawn stopped him by stamping on his foot. Hard. _

_As Gus fell to the ground, he managed to say in one breath "Shawn's trying to buy flowers to impress a girl!" Shawn glared down and him and hissed._

_"Traitor!"_

_Shawn then looked up at his father, defiance burning in his eyes. Henry just stared at him. "You're breaking into your bike savings so you can buy cheap flowers for some girl? Shawn, what have I told you about priorities? Some girl should not be on that list!" _

_Shawn groaned. "It's not just some girl! It's Sam Crisplin, the prettiest girl in homeroom. Mark Steele told me that girls like flowers. And I looked at some on the way home, but they're more than you gave me for allowance. I told the guy I'd be back once I got more money, but Gus tried to stop me." He tossed down a glare as Gus tried to use Shawn's leg as leverage to stand up._

_Henry rubbed his forehead in frustration. He really didn't want to talk to his son about girls, especially in front of Gus. It'd be just his luck that he'd go home later and spout whatever he told Shawn to his parents. The Guster's were nice people, but they sheltered Gus a little too much and Henry didn't look forward to being yelled at for teaching the boys about life. He motioned for the boys to sit at the picnic table anyway and thought about his words very carefully. "Shawn…. When you're trying to impress a girl, flowers and chocolates are not they way to go. They only say two things. 'I have no idea what you like' and 'I did something really stupid.' That's not a message you want to send right off the bat to someone you care about. Mark Steele is a moron anyway."_

_Shawn and Gus grinned to each other at that. "If you really want to impress her, you'd ask her what she likes or do something she wouldn't expect that shows you like her. Something from the heart." Shawn nodded in understanding, wheels already turning in his head. Henry sighed and shook his head. He knew he would be receiving a call from the principal soon. But Shawn had to make his mistakes so he could learn from them._

"_Now, why don't you put you bank back in your room and get ready for dinner."_

**Santa Barbara – Present**

"Dude, I think Lassi is mad at me." Hurricane Shawn had entered the Psych office forty-seven minutes late, set his helmet down on his desk, plopped down in his chair, twirled around for approximately thirty seconds and blurted out the previous statement in an extremely petulant manner. Gus looked up from some papers on his desk and stared over at Shawn impassively.

"Shawn, why do you always assume that I care about how Lassiter feels about you at any given moment?"

He actually appeared to ponder the question for a minute. He then smiled broadly. "Because as my bestest friend in the whole wide world, it is your duty to be happy for me and help me when the happy decides to ignore me at breakfast. And he totally ducked my 'have good day at work' kiss."

Standing up, Gus moved across the office to sit on the edge of Shawn's desk. "First off, I am glad that you're happy, even though I now have to keep a suitcase by my door for when you call me telling me that you and Lassiter broke up and that we need to leave town. Second of all, have you even considered the fact that you might have done something to piss him off?"

Shawn cocked his head to the side as if to say 'Oh, Gus'. "Of course! I had the entire ride over here to think about what I could have possibly done to make the already cranky man crankier." He put his fingers on either side of his temple and closed his eyes, picturing the previous nights' events in his head. "We got to his apartment a few minutes apart, he talked for awhile about some new idiot rookie that replaced some retiree, I told him about the store being out of pineapple smoothies and our run in with my dad at the petting zoo, which was creepy by the way,-"

Gus nodded in earnest at the statement, not wanting to recall seeing Henry Spencer hanging out with a baby goat. "You know that's right…"

"-We watched the news before dinner, which consisted of me calling City Wok, we watched the end of some horrible cable show, we got ready for bed…" Shawn's eyes flashed open and he looked up sharply at Gus.

"Oh crap! He asked me about moving in with him! I was still stuck on the new level my dad had reached on the creep meter and kind of..." He trailed off. Gus hung his head and sighed.

"He asked if you wanted to live with him and you blew him off?" Gus stood up and rushed over to the window, as if expecting to see the detective outside with a sniper rifle.

"Gus, I need to make this up to him! Quick! What's the best way to please an officer of the law?"

He snorted derisively. "Harsher punishments for parole violators? I have no idea!" Snapping the blinds down, he turned on his heels to face Shawn. "It's your mess, you clean it up! Good luck." Gus sat back down at his desk and turned on his computer.

"What? You're going to ignore me with internet poker? Really?"

Gus set his face to nonchalant and didn't answer him, focusing solely on the game and not on the thoughts of being murdered as an accomplice to the world's worst boyfriend.

Shawn tried to goad Gus into responding to him, but he had zero joy on that front. Then, like a ton of bricks, an idea hit him. He stood up and grabbed his helmet off the desk and made for the door. Gus pretended not to watch him go, which worked for all of about a nanosecond. Curiosity got the better of him and before Shawn even touched the door handle, Gus sighed. "Where are you going?" Though he really didn't want to know the answer.

Shawn turned and smiled. "To get a buttload of origami paper!"

**HKHKHKHKHKHKHK**

Gus sat in the drivers' seat as they drove down the 101 to the art supply store. Shawn sat to his right, idly drumming his hands on his knees and watching the scenery go by. Gus shook his head. Shawn was a full grown man who couldn't sit still for a fifteen minute car ride and sad to say, that was an improvement. It was much worse in school. The teachers were always trying to calm him down during class, but it was no use. Since the fifth grade, Shawn would take all his course books home for the weekend and memorize them, that way he could spend class time hitting on whoever he thought was cutest. By their senior year, teachers would give him all the week's work on Monday and told him to have it done by Friday and not to disrupt the class too much. His father didn't much like that tact but the principal said that he maintained his GPA and unless it dropped, there was no real problem.

He was ripped from his thoughts when Shawn started slapping his shoulder and telling him to turn right into the store parking lot. After finding a sweet parking spot near the front doors, they got out of the car and made their way inside, Shawn walking quickly with excitement. They passed an old lady greeter and gave her a polite wave as they passed her by. The store wasn't too populated and some light jazz music filtered down from the speakers dotted along the ceiling.

"So why are we here Shawn? What could we possibly find here that would make Lassiter happy? There are not a lot of old ladies running an illegal racketeering game involving quilting bees."

Shawn sighed at Gus' pessimism and grabbed a basket at the entrance, turning his head to look at him. "Ever hear the myth about folding a thousand paper cranes?"

Gus nodded. "Fold a thousand and you're granted a wish. So?"

They made their way down the aisle where a young woman with red hair was also looking at origami paper bundles and Shawn started grabbing stacks of differently colored paper. "If I paper Lassi's apartment and-" He made air quotes "- 'office' with the cranes, he'll see that I'm making an effort to apologize and forgive me for being a space case. And then I'll wish that he stays with me and sexes me up forever."

Gus shuddered for a moment at the mental imagery of Shawn and Lassiter having sex as octogenarians and quickly tried to burn the thought from his brain. "Do you even know how to fold cranes? They're supposed to be one of the most difficult things to do in origami."

Shaking his head at Gus, Shawn ripped open the cellophane wrapping on one of the bundles, and proceeding to fold a perfect paper crane in less than a minute. Gus' mouth hung open. Shawn handed the crane to the red haired woman. She looked at him in surprise as he continued down the aisle without another glance back. "You've known me for how long and you still have to ask me questions like that?" He tsked at Gus as they made their way to the check out lane.

"One of these days..." Gus grumbled. Shawn just laughed at him.

"You've been saying that seventh grade!"

Gus stared at him. "And one of these days, it will _actually_ happen!"

Shawn playfully punched his shoulder and pulled out his wallet to pay the check out girl. "Keep telling yourself that."

**HKHKHKHKHKHKHK**

Lassiter sat his desk and let out a breath of defeat. He looked down at his watch, which read 7:15 PM. He had been going over crime scene photos for hours and nothing seemed to be popping out him. Three murders in five days and nothing seemed to be linking the victims to each other, other than the killers M.O. The first victim was a 47 year old black male who worked as a CPA downtown. The second was a 34 year old white male who'd worked as a real estate salesman in the 'burbs. The last had been 29 years old and was working on his Ph. D in Marine Biology and worked part time the local aquarium.

All of them had had a single stab wound to the chest. Chief Vick had been breathing down his and O'Hara's necks for some headway in the case but they couldn't make heads or tails of it. She then gave them explicit instructions not to involve Spencer in the case unless it was absolutely necessary. 'Too many wins on his side makes us look incompetent. Let's get this one for us.' She had told them vehemently when they'd been in her office.

Carlton had to laugh a little to himself. For months, he had tried to get her to stop employing the 'psychic' on cases and now that he and Spencer had been involved for almost a year and actually looked forward to working with him is when she decides to keep him from a case. The small laugh died on his lips when he thought about Shawn. Last night he had offered to take their relationship to the next level by asking him to move in and Shawn had more or less blown him off.

He had climbed into bed after he made the suggestion and gone to sleep without even answering. Carlton on the other hand had laid up half the night pondering what was next for them. Did Shawn think that this whole thing was semi-serious? He had been the major factor in his decision to finally give his wife a divorce and had sat with him outside the mediator's office giving him a pep talk after he found himself unable to remove himself from the cheap vinyl chair. That night, Shawn had let him anger-fuck him to relieve the stress.

Afterwards, he'd spent an hour making it up to him by kissing every inch of his body and sucking him off before making passionate love to him. He'd later told Shawn he was sorry for taking his anger out on him, and Shawn simply rolled over, kissed him softly and told him that now that he belonged to him totally, it didn't matter.

Shawn represented the culmination of all the changes he had made in his life and with one shrug of the shoulder, he had thrown those changes Lassiter had made such strides in taking out the window. That morning, he chose to ignore Shawn. They ate breakfast in silence and Shawn didn't even really seem to notice. After cleaning up, he got ready to leave, grabbed his briefcase from the table beside the door and walked right past Shawn as he moved to kiss him good-bye. He then slammed the door behind him.

It was the presence of O'Hara by his side that brought him back to reality. Carlton glared up at her, waiting for her to speak. She bit her lip and scrunched up her face. "Can I help you with something O'Hara? Or are purposefully trying to piss me off?" That little nudge was all she needed to go off like a water sprinkler.

She sat down at the chair across from him. "It's just that for the past year you've been…. noticeably less angry than usual. We'd kind of gotten used to the new you and now you're all..." She raised her hands and turned her fingers into claws "...Grrr." He narrowed his eyes. O'Hara seemed to wilt under his glare. "And I was... a little concerned."

He actually managed to not say the first snide remark that came to him and took a deep breath to keep himself calm. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing you need to get wrapped up in."

She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Vick storming out of her office. "We got another one, people! Let's move on this one before it gets cold!" Lassiter and O'Hara jumped up, grabbed their gear and joined Vick as she made her way out of the police station. As an afterthought, he discreetly pulled his phone from his pocket and sent Shawn a text telling him he would be late for dinner. A few minutes later, his phone buzzed in his pocket with a reply.

_It's all good._

_Busy at the office._

_See you tomorrow?_

_H&K's_

Carlton began to feel that earlier anger build up again at that. He had said he would be late for dinner. He didn't say that he hadn't wanted Shawn to come over. He had given him a key for that very reason, so that after a long day or an especially brutal case, he could come home to waiting arms, or in some instances, commiserate together if they'd both worked the case. He didn't respond to the text, but snapped his phone closed and shoved it back into his pocket. He caught O'Hara looking at him from the corner of his eye with concern. He ignored her and followed the black and whites to the crime scene in silence.

**HKHKHKHKHKHKHK**

Lassiter stood behind the forensics photographer snapping shots of the body and turned to O'Hara. "Same M.O. as the rest. Other than that, no connection to the other vics. Latino, 34, worked as a mechanic at a shop a few blocks from here. According to all reports, a loving husband, good father, diligent worker, and friendly neighbor." O'Hara nodded as he spoke, never taking her eyes off the body and the vicious chest wound. After a moment, she turned away and moved to investigate the rest of the house.

Karen was outside talking to the reporters or not talking to them, depending on how you looked at it. He could faintly hear her say 'no comment' and 'make a statement at a later date'. The wife and two children were giving their statements to a uniform, leaving Lassiter to join O'Hara in looking around the house for clues. She was currently going through a stack of letters the wife had brought in before discovering the body of her husband.

When Lassiter walked in, she handed him a piece of mail. "Cell phone bill. Wife and kids are pretty normal but look at the vics. One number dialed around lunchtime and late evening. Never any other time."

Lassiter gave her a slight nod of approval at her find. "So the loving husband had a mistress?" He handed the paper back to her. "Run the number and find out who she is. If anything else, she might know more than the wife about why someone wanted him murdered."

Carlton did a walk-through of the entire house, but found nothing else of interest. He made his way back into the living room just as the forensics team was finishing up. They sealed up their bags and kits, and stood up to leave.

One of them saw Lassiter and walked up to him an evidence bag in his left hand. "This case might be looking up, Detective. We found a print on this one. Seems the perp slipped up this time. The rest were clean for prints or DNA, so this could be the break you're looking for. I'm gonna run it up to the lab now."

When he handed the bag to Carlton, he held it up to the light and examined the bag containing a single light blue paper crane.

**HKHKHKHKHKHKHK**

By the time Carlton pulled up to his apartment, all the freaks were beginning to come out before the bars closed. He passed a few patrolmen clocking speeders and some very questionable women hanging out the street corners by his place. He had half hoped that Shawn might have changed his mind and stayed the night, but his Commando was not parked on the street, meaning that he was not going to be upstairs waiting for him. Lassiter cursed himself for even thinking about letting Spencer move in with him. He vaguely knew of Shawn's track record with relationships and his fear of commitments but he'd gone into their relationship anyway, thinking that it would different. As he moved to put the key into the lock, a thought crossed his mind.

Perhaps by mentioning them living together, he had scared Shawn away. Again, it all came down to him being a commitment-phobe, but maybe he just wasn't ready for the next step and Shawn wanted to take it slow. 'Fat chance' Carlton thought bitterly. 'Ten minutes into our first date, he was already trying to get into my pants.' He pushed open the door, set his briefcase on the table and turned on the light. He stopped short and very slowly scanned his apartment.

On his couch, his coffee table, kitchen table, sink and parts of the floor were hundreds of small paper cranes. A flash of fear ran through him before his police instinct overrode it. Carlton grabbed his sidearm from the figure eight holster strapped around his shoulders and slowly made his way into the back rooms. The bathroom floor, tub and sink were covered in more cranes. He cleared it of any intruders and made his way into the bedroom.

The bed was nothing but paper cranes and the two nightstands on either side of the bed were covered with them. The few items he had on top of the dresser weren't even visible under the cranes. Lassiter was taking stock of everything when he jumped about a foot as someone started knocking loudly on his door. He made his way through the flock of paper birds and brought his eye up to the peep hole. He calmed down a little when he saw Shawn standing outside. He holstered his gun and opened the door.

Shawn's smile lit up the dark hallway. He held up a red paper crane in his hand, which was covered in Band-Aids. The number 1,000 was written on the crane with a marker. "Do I get my wish now?" He said, looking Carlton dead in the eye.

His mind took a minute to comprehend what the hell his lover was talking about. When the tumblers fell into place, he cocked his head to the side and returned Shawn's stare. "And what is it that you would like to wish for, pray tell?" He said a bit more rudely than he intended.

Shawn walked into Carlton's personal bubble until their noses were almost touching. "I wish I had said 'yes' to the proposal you made last night.'

Carlton had the decency to look shocked at this. He then peered deeply into Shawn's eyes, looking for any sign of deception there. Seeing none, he pieced everything together, with all the paper cranes and the dozen or so Band-Aids on both his lovers' hands, and the dark circles beginning to form under his eyes. "I am impressed, Spencer. You've outdone yourself this time."

Shawn placed his hand on his chest and grinned. "Oh, Lassi-" He was cut off by a rough hand grabbing his shirt and yanking him forward.

"Wish granted."

Carlton dragged him into the apartment and began to undress Shawn with slow, deliberate motions. He put his lips to shell of Shawn's ear and whispered "Now I think it's time for the making up part of your wish." Shawn moaned in agreement and they suddenly started grabbing for each other urgently, tearing off each other's cloths and scattering them with the rest on the floor in their frenzy to reach the bedroom. "How do you want to do this?" Shawn asked, his breathing heavy once they were completely divested of their clothing.

"Don't care, as long as we do it right now," Carlton growled, latching onto Shawn's neck and groaning as their bodies slid together perfectly.

"Works for me."

Carlton wrapped his arms around Shawn's waist and brought their lips together. "I could use a good fuck, teach you a lesson in listening," he flashed an evil grin to Shawn. "And after," Carlton's voice dropped down, "I want to take my time making love to you." Shawn almost melted in his lover's arms right there.

Carlton's hands squeezed Shawn's ass before sliding his hand around to tease and stroke him. Shawn managed to compose himself through a shiver and steered them to the bed before he tore himself away from his lover long enough to sweep the paper cranes off the bed. Once that was done, Carlton pushed Shawn down on to the mattress and knelt down between his legs. Shawn tugged his chin up and he separated each word of his request between kisses. "Give me – sex – now – please." Carlton's mouth pressed forward eagerly, their tongues sliding around each other in a familiar dance as he reached blindly for the small bottle they kept on the nightstand. Releasing Shawn from the kiss, Lassiter pressed him down on the bed and spread his legs open.

Shawn gasped as cool, slick fingers slipped into him easily. "How do you always know—oh, fuck!" He arched his back, quivering with pleasure as Carlton curled his fingers just right. A soft bite to Shawn's stomach sent another shiver through his whole body. Carlton finished preparing Shawn, an easy task considering their frequent couplings and crawled up the mattress to hover over him. Nuzzling Shawn's face, Lassiter lined himself up and slid inside his lover, filling him completely and soothing the aching need within him. All the worry and anger of the previous day disappeared as they set up a hard rhythm and Carlton quickly shifted position to throw one of Shawn's legs over his shoulder, thrusting into his lover relentlessly.

Lassiter was barely aware when his cries of passion turned into his lover's name, his attention focus on Shawn alone and bringing him the most amount of pleasure. Taking the younger man in hand, Carlton pumped Shawn with sure, solid strokes and watched him intently as he fell over the edge, giving up control of his body to his lover.

Shawn leaned up to graze on Lassiter's skin as he was pounded into, making sure to leave behind a small mark in the crook of Carlton's neck where it would just be covered by his shirt collar. Lassiter repositioned himself again and began to drive into Shawn deeper, feeling his whole existence narrow down to just them and this. An obscene moan escaped Shawn's lips and he gazed up into Carlton' eyes, his nails raking through his short cropped hair, the Band-Aids threatening to come off as his fingers curled tightly. "I need more of you." He said, his voice husky.

Carlton's short laugh at the need in his lover's voice turned into a sharp breath as their bodies rocked together in sync. He gave up trying to respond, and focused on the feel of the smooth arms around him and the sensations burning between them. The tension built slowly as they moved together, savoring each brush of skin against skin. Shawn's tongue drove into his mouth, mirroring the rhythm of Carlton's thrusts; slower and faster, in an out, softer and harder.

Carlton couldn't refuse the increased pace as Shawn's tongue made love to his mouth, or the soft noise that escaped him when that tongue lapped hungrily at his own. Kissing was something Carlton never tired of; the feel of those lips against his own and Shawn's unique taste of pineapple and something he would never be able to quantify were irresistibly arousing.

Desire washed over him with each caressing sweep, and his body started to tremble. Carlton pushed down, driving Shawn's knees to his chest as he angled his hips to slide himself directly over that spot he knew would send an intense burst of pleasure through his lover's whole body. A writhing shudder was his reward; a heel dug into his back, demanding more, and the hands gripping his hair tightened noticeably.

Their mouths fell open against each other; short, heavy breaths shared the same air as they approached the peak. Carlton opened his eyes, uncertain of when they'd closed but wanting to watch as the ecstasy claimed them. Shawn's moan sent shivers down his back and spun him toward his release. "So close, Carlton…Yes… _Yes_!" He saw the flash of exquisite pleasure in the widening eyes, and moved quickly to stroke the hard flesh between them.

The body beneath his stiffened, warmth splashing over his hand and stomach as Shawn's body became a livewire for the sensations overtaking him. A few more punishing thrusts and Carlton was lost in a wave that robbed him of everything but the bliss shooting through him. He knew he cried out, but he couldn't hear it over his heartbeat thudding in his ears and the feel of Shawn's beating in his chest as he collapsed on top of him.

After they both caught their breath, they managed to clean themselves off and snuggled back down on the bed. Carlton idly ran his fingers through Shawn's hair as the younger man purred like a kitten and began to doze off.

Before sleep overtook them, Carlton ceased his movements and nudged Shawn. He grumbled a bit. "Good sex makes Hulk tired. What you want?"

Carlton chuckled softly. "I wanted to know what possessed you to inflict carpal tunnel syndrome on yourself and make those damn birds." Shawn shifted from his side and buried his face in his lover's fuzzy chest.

"I wanted to do something original. Something from the heart."

**HKHKHKHKHKHKHK**

The first thing that Juliet noticed was that the bounce that had been absent from Lassiter's step the day previous was back in full force. She even dared to say there was a small smirk on his face to boot. She was glad, considering how much pressure he had been under since this serial killer had been active and it was nice to see that her partner had found some outlet that didn't involve guns and reenactments. She had been waiting for the forensics team leader to come out from the chief's office with the profile on the killer and had been for awhile when she spotted Lassiter coming into the station.

At one point, she'd thought that the profiler had purposefully gone above her and had given the report to Chief Vick instead of her, like he was supposed to have done. He'd brazenly walked passed O'Hara without a word and straight into Vick's office. She saw them talk for almost thirty minutes and Karen had gotten angrier with every word the tech said. She got on the phone and motioned for the forensics guy to leave with a flick of her hand. Again, the guy passed by her without saying a word. Juliet continued watching Karen make her brief call. Around this time Lassiter walked in and O'Hara's attentions were diverted.

"Well, you certainly look in better spirits today!" He didn't respond but the smirk got a little wider. She recognized that look from half the men – and some of the women – in the bullpen. 'He got lucky last night.' She grinned to herself, happy for him. Her fax machine beeped, knocking her back into the moment as the document started to print.

As she went to grab the paper from the tray, she saw Shawn Spencer walk in, dressed in faded jeans that accentuated all the right parts, a yellow and green print jersey shirt and beat up sneakers. His hair looked like an octopus ran its tentacles through it and as always, he had that self satisfied look on his face.

She started to say hello when Chief Vick's office door slammed open, "SPENCER!" Everyone jumped, including Shawn, at her cacophonous shout. Lassiter glanced from Vick to Shawn in confusion, but Vick resolutely pointed her finger into her office and waited for him to comply.

She shut the door sharply behind her once he was inside and motioned for him to sit. She then sat on the edge of the desk and handed him a folder. Lassiter had walked over to O'Hara at this point and she blinked up at him.

"I thought she said she didn't want him on this case. What changed?"

He shook his head. "She realized we desperately needed his help?"

Jules' eyes widened. She knew that the outright hatred the Head Detective had for the psychic had tapered, but she never thought she would hear Lassiter admit they needed his help. Ever. She turned back to look into the office. The chief was pointing to the file and she looked like she was grilling a suspect.

Shawn closed the file sharply and threw it on the desk. He kept shaking his head and throwing his arms up. Lassiter had seen this defensive move on a thousand suspects and he vaguely wondered why Shawn needed to be defensive. Then he wondered how long after he left that Karen had called him in. Karen was now standing toe to toe with Shawn and he looked slightly frightened by the fact. He threw his arms down and moved to leave the office.

Karen was right behind him, face contorted in anger. "Spencer!" She called again. He had almost made it down the hall when she yelled his name. He turned around to look at her, eyes narrowed. She held her ground and nodded her head to a uniform. "Mr. Spencer, you have the right to remain silent." Lassiter and O'Hara jumped when she started reading Shawn his Miranda rights and Carlton rushed over to Shawn, who was arguing with the officer cuffing him. Everyone else was watching intently.

"Chief Vick, what are you doing?" Lassiter asked. The officer finally managed to get the cuffs on him and was holding him still. Karen turned to O'Hara and Lassiter.

"Lab reports came back this morning. The fingerprint on the crane found with Mr. Santoro's body came back as a match to Mr. Spencer."

Lassiter turned his head in disbelief to look at Shawn. "Chief, why would Shawn want to kill a mechanic? One he had absolutely no connection to?"

Jules appeared scandalized by the notion that their quirky psychic would kill someone and she stared at the chief with wide eyes.

"Not just Santoro, Detective Lassiter. We looked through the phone records of the first victim, Victor Pressman. Guess who he called three days before he died?" Jules continued to shake her head.

At this, Shawn spoke up. "Pressman called me, yes. But not the husband, it was the wife who I spoke to."

The chief made a little 'ah' and smiled like that solved everything. "But how do you explain your prints on paper crane? I know for a fact you weren't at that crime scene yesterday. And you won't even tell me what you were doing between 4 and 8 PM last night!"

Shawn looked Lassiter dead in the eye. "I was making origami cranes at my office all day." He turned his back on them and wiggled his bandaged fingers at them, the cuffs jangling on his wrists.

Jules' face fell at this and Karen shook her head. "And what about this morning? We sent a black and white by your apartment and you weren't there. But when I called you, you said you were at home. How do you explain that?"

Lassiter knew that if Shawn just told the truth he could clear himself, but in confessing, he would be crossing a line Lassiter wasn't ready to even toe yet. So in protecting his lover, Shawn was willing to take the fall for this crime.

Again, Shawn looked at Lassiter. "Easy. I lied about where I was. Big deal. All that proves is that I am dishonest when girls call asking where I am."

Karen managed a small smile. "Then where were you?"

O'Hara looked like she was about to have kittens. She knew that Shawn would never commit any serious crime, but he was refusing every opening the chief was giving him to clear his name. She realized that he was hiding something, but couldn't figure out why. Shawn shrugged.

"Here and there." He said with a shrug.

Jules finally snapped and jumped in between Shawn and Karen. "Chief, look at this rationally. If Shawn says he talked to Pressman's wife, call her to confirm it. And besides his prints on the crane from the Santoro scene, what connects him to the other two victims?"

Shawn nodded in earnest. "What she said. Why would I want to kill anyone anyway? Where's my motivation?"

Sighing, Karen put a hand on her hip. "That's true. But with his prints on the evidence and him not willing to divulge his whereabouts, this doesn't look good for him." She glanced at Shawn, almost pleading for him to deny any of this so she could hire him to find the real killer.

His response was to look at everyone but her. "Mr. Spencer, please just explain this all to me so I won't have to throw you in a cell. Please?"

Shawn refused to speak and Lassiter finally jumped into the fray. "Chief, a word in your office?" She scratched her head in frustration and nodded in frustration.

The door shut behind them and Carlton shuffled around nervously for a moment. Karen crossed her arms in front of her and waited. She knew that whatever the detective was about to tell her was uncomfortable, going by his body language alone and not on her observations of his personal life. She wasn't blind. She had her suspicions about what was causing her Head Detective to relax so much lately. When she'd first met him, she was convinced that he could swallow coal and excrete diamonds. But she wasn't going to push the issue and force him to open up to her. Karen just hoped that whatever confession would be forthcoming would clear their best chance of closing this case, however damning it was.

"I can personally vouch for Spencer's whereabouts last night. And I can hand over all the paper cranes he said he made to the lab guys. They can see if they were folded by the same person. No one has the same finger print, so no one can fold something the same way, right?"

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts, she almost didn't catch all of what he said. "I would think... Why wouldn't Spencer just tell me that he went out with you last night? It could have saved us from having that huge scene."

Lassiter cocked his head. She was fishing for more information, he knew it, but she wouldn't let it go at that. He turned to look out the glass office doors and saw O'Hara talking to Shawn as the uniform sat him down on the bench and started to hook him up to the restraint bar. Carlton internally sighed and dove in head first. "We didn't go out last night. Before we reached Santoro's house, Spencer told me was busy at the office. Guster was most likely there, he can vouch for that portion of the evening. By the time I got home, he had already been there for at least three hours….."

He thought back to how Shawn had set up all those cranes around his apartment. It would have taken him a while to park his bike two blocks over, walk back, get in and start arranging. But it still didn't explain how his prints had gotten on the evidence.

Karen arched an eyebrow. "He was already at your home? He has a key to your place?" She knew that was a blatant attempt to get him to spill the beans, but she wanted _some_ honesty this morning.

He didn't answer her, but simply looked away and gave a small 'I didn't do it' whistle. Karen knew that look would be all that he would give her in lieu of a real answer. She uncrossed her arms and at least had the good taste to give him a placating smile. She saw him relax slightly at this.

"I'll release him for now, but he is still our best lead in the case. Now, ethically, I can't have a suspect working on a case, but I think we can throw him a few bones."

Carlton nodded at this. "O'Hara mentioned a connection to the other two victims. Keep him off of those, but let him look at the rest."

**HKHKHKHKHKHKHK**

Shawn pulled at the wrist restraints attached to the metal bench. He knew they wouldn't give, but he was having a hard time sitting still. He glanced into Chief Vick's office and watched Lassiter talk to her. He had a sneaking suspicion what he was telling her and was beating himself up for backing his lover into this corner.

And what were the freaking odds that the same time he decides to fold a thousand paper cranes that some whack job does the same thing? He wanted to kick himself for not snooping around the station earlier. He knew Carlton was on a case, they watched the news almost every night. But Carlton refused to talk about it and he hadn't received any calls about coming in to review the case.

Shawn left it alone and look where it had gotten him.

O'Hara was on her cell trying to get a hold of Gus and the uniform Vick had sicced on him was staring at him like Indians used to stare at buffalo.

"Officer Frost, you can release Mr. Spencer." Shawn jerked his head up in surprise. Vick had come out of her office with Lassiter trailing behind her. The expression on his face was all Shawn needed to see to know that he had told Vick something, anything about last night. The officer un-cuffed him and stalked away with a disappointed look on his face. He stood up as Jules joined them.

"Gus is on his way. He has one more delivery and then he's heading here." Shawn thanked her and turned to the chief who slapped another file into his hand.

"Fred Donnelly and Brice Newton. The second and third victims. Donnelly was a real estate agent and Newton was studying marine biology. Neither knew each other and lived on opposite sides of town. Figure out how they're connected and I might just reconsider throwing you in a cell."

Nodding, Shawn made his way to Jules' desk and sat down. He opened the folder and pulled out the crime scene photos. He focused in on the bodies. Gaping chest wounds with paper cranes placed on top of them. The rest of the scene held no other hints as to how the killer got in or out. It was the same with both the victims.

After a while, Shawn couldn't make heads or tails of what he was looking at, his eyes watering from focusing so hard. He gave up on the photos and went over the reports. Gus came in a few moments later and made a beeline for Shawn. "What the hell is going on? Jules says you were arrested for a quadruple homicide!" He stopped and looked down at Shawn, who was clearly not in handcuffs or a cell. "Dammit, Shawn! I ran four yellow lights to get here!" He plopped down on a chair and sulked.

Vick saw Guster arrive and she and Jules were at his side in a few breaths. "Gus, you can verify that Shawn was at the office yesterday between 3 and 7 PM, right?" Gus nodded. "I had to make an emergency delivery around 6:30, so I left around then." Shawn mutely threw Vick an 'I told you so' face. "And did you receive a call from someone named Pressman a week ago?"

Again, Gus nodded his head. "Woman was hysterical. Swore up and down that her husband was having an affair and only Shawn could prove it one way or another. I put him on and she talked his ear off for almost an hour." That smug look crossed Shawn's face again. Chief Vick nodded and walked away, O'Hara behind her.

"Whoa!" Shawn dug back through the police reports and pulled out the families statements. "Gus! Donnelly and Newton's wife said that they suspected their husbands of having an affair. They won't give me the file on the other two victims, but I would bet you that they were cheating too!"

Gus looked confused. "Who goes around killing cheaters? And why did they suspect you of murdering them?"

Shrugging, Shawn handed the photos over to him. Gus took one look and almost upchucked right there. He managed to keep his breakfast down and carefully looked at the photos again. "Both the victims have cranes in their stab wounds." He stared at Shawn. "All those paper cranes you folded yesterday." Shawn nodded. "The last victim's crane had my prints all over it." Gus whistled. "I don't know how you get your self into these things."

He threw the photos back on the desk with disgust. "So, we make it like you had a vision and drag all the widows down here and accuse them of murdering their husbands in the exact same manner? Real smart."

"Oh, Gus. Have you no faith in me at all? The widows are all innocent. Clean as a whistle, though maybe if they had gotten a little dirty, their husbands might not have strayed." Gus groaned and put his head in his hands. Shawn smirked and continued looking over the files, seeking more ammo for his upcoming vision.

Lassiter chose that moment to come up behind Gus. He placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked up sharply. Carlton cocked his head back, clearly telling the man to beat feet.

Getting the hint, Gus stood up and left. Shawn put down the papers he was perusing and looked at Carlton. "How much did you tell Vick?"

Carlton scrubbed his face with his hands and let out a bone weary sigh. "Enough to let her know where you were and in what capacity."

Shawn hissed. "Ouch."

Leaning forward, Lassiter dropped his voice. "Well, did you honestly think I was going to let you go down like that?"

Any snide remark Shawn was going to say was forgotten as he turned his head away from Lassiter and back to the police files. He spotted something in the report out of the corner of his eye. Shawn flung himself out of the chair and began to flail around the bullpen. Lassiter knew the act but played along with it.

"I see Shamu in a western ranch! Wait! No. A Cape Cod! … A little unassuming number where he could raise a family." By this time, a crowd had begun to form and Chief Vick, Jules and Gus were pushing through them.

"Newton was buying a house from Donnelly! He was helping him find a house for when he graduated. I see Pressman filing tax forms for approval on the house." He stopped flailing and opened his eyes.

Vick was staring at him. "And what about Santoro? How does he fit in to all this?"

Smirking, Shawn shrugged slowly. "Where else would you take your car when it's broken down? Newton is the connection and all these men were cheating on their wives!"

Vick didn't need anymore. "Bring in Newton's widow."

O'Hara and Lassiter nodded. Shawn raised his hand and motioned for Vick's attention. She turned back to him and sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yes, you can go with them, Mr. Spencer." He thanked her and dashed through the crowd after Carlton and Jules. Halfway to the door, he passed Gus coming back in. Shawn reached out his hand and grabbed Gus by his suit collar and dragged him outside with a yelp.

**HKHKHKHKHKHKHK**

Shifting slightly in her seat, Jules tossed a glance at Lassiter. His body language as he drove screamed to leave him alone but she couldn't help herself. What Karen had told her seemed too bizarre to believe and while she knew the chief would never lie to her, she had to hear it from the horses' mouth. And since Shawn and Gus were following them to Marissa Newton's apartment, she had to take her shot while she could. She opened her mouth to speak, but it was Lassiter's words that filled the car.

"Almost eight months, yes it's pretty serious, and I didn't tell you because I still don't fully trust you, not after my birthday party." He hadn't taken his eyes off the road, not wanting to see the hurt look in O'Hara's eyes. Carlton had many valid reasons for not telling a lot of people, but it was more difficult with Jules. She wanted so much to see him happy and only wanted the best for him.

Jules turned her head to Gus' blue car behind them and back to Lassiter. "I just would have never pictured you and Shawn, that's all. It's all a bit of a shock."

Carlton snorted. "How do you think that I feel?"

O'Hara managed to laugh at that. "Despite the secrecy, I'm glad you found someone." The rest of the car ride was silent, but no longer uncomfortable.

When they finally reached Newton's apartment, Lassiter and O'Hara made their way up the short walk, Gus and Shawn behind them. Lassiter opened the screen door and knocked sharply. "Santa Barbara Police Department!" When no one answered, Lassiter reached for the door knob and turned it. To their surprise, it was unlocked.

O'Hara motioned for Shawn and Gus to wait outside and they entered slowly, clearing each room one by one. It was obvious that no one was home. "You can come in now." She said.

Shawn walked in and took a look around. The door entered in at the kitchen and Shawn immediately noticed no dishes in the sink, no dishwasher and one knife missing from the block on the center of the island.

He placed his hand to his head and upped the amount of mysteriousness to his voice. "She is searching... for her next victim. I see her with the knife and she's going to kill again!"

O'Hara grabbed her radio from her belt and called the station, telling them to put out an A.P.B. on Newton's widow. While she did this, Shawn made his way into the sitting room and glanced around.

He zeroed in on a photo and frantically waved for Gus to join him. "Gus, do you see what I see?"

Taking in the décor of the room, Gus nodded. "That his widow is colorblind? I mean, _look_ at those curtains!"

Shawn moved his head back in shock. "Dude. I don't even know you." He pointed to the picture frame sitting on an end table.

It was a picture of Brice and his wife at beach. Gus looked at it for a moment and then started to jump up and down. Shawn joined him excitedly as Gus started to whisper vehemently. "It's the lady from the art supply store! You handed her the paper crane you folded. She must have thought it was her lucky day. She can kill her next victim and frame someone else at the same time!" Shawn and Gus ceased their celebrating and stared at each other.

"But why is she killing all these people and who is she going after now?" Gus asked.

Shawn thought back to the police reports. "She must have found out Brice was cheating on her. So not wanting to kill him outright and make herself the only suspect, she kills Pressman first. If he was helping them with their paperwork for their new house, she could have easily known he was having an affair.

"After that, she waits to see how the police handle it. She watched the news and must have seen Vick talking to the reporters. Me and Carlton watched the same thing. Anyone could have guessed by her reluctance to talk to the press as a sign they had no suspects. So she moves on to Donnelly. Same thing. He was helping them shop for houses and probably talked to his secretary a few times. And you know how women love to gossip.

"The secretary lets it slip and the missus tucks it away for future use. So after she kills the realtor, she figures its safe to kill her husband. It goes off without a hitch. Police don't suspect a thing. But she needs a few more to be safe. The next victim she knew through her husband. Guys and their mechanics are usually tight. He mentions it one night at dinner and there goes Santoro."

Gus pumped his arm in excitement. "We are _so_ good! And we could probably get some major points from the chief after she wrongfully arrested you."

Shawn shook his head. "I've already put her though enough. The only problem is where would Mrs. Newton go for her final victim and why did she need another one?" Shawn moved further into the sitting room and perused it one more time. Gus snapped his fingers. "Brice was a student at UC Santa Barbara, right?"

Nodding, Shawn let a smirk cross his face. "What are professors famous for with their female students?" Shawn offered out his fist to Gus, who bumped it with a grin.

Shawn then dropped to floor and started yelling in pain and grabbing his chest. O'Hara and Lassiter ran into the room. "I see where she's going! Reese Witherspoon in a horrible shade of pink and John Belushi in a toga!" Gus stepped in for Shawn and looked at the detectives.

"College! Brice was a student at UCSB. She must have gone there looking for her next victim." Not needing to be told twice, O'Hara and Lassiter were running back to their car, O'Hara back on the radio. Gus helped Shawn off the floor and they too where out the door.

**HKHKHKHKHKHKHK**

When they finally made it to the university, classes were beginning to let out and they had to fight their way through the students and into the registrar's office. A little old lady who looked like a strong wind might blow her away was sitting behind the desk. Lassiter walked in and flashed the woman his badge.

She appeared to be taken aback for a moment, but recovered nicely. "What can I do for you, officer?"

Lassiter grit his teeth and Shawn and Gus had to bite back their laughter. "It's _Detective_. We need Brice Newton's class schedule." She nodded her head and turned to her computer. A few clicks and the printer was spiting out a sheet of paper. She handed the paper to Lassiter and they all crowded around.

"You can scratch off the female teachers." Jules said.

Lassiter took out a pen and crossed out their names.

"And Mr. Stover was old when I was here years ago." Gus chimed in.

Shawn looked at the paper. "Mr. Clopps' wife died a few months ago." They all looked at Shawn. "What? Don't you read the obits?" Gus punched Shawn. "That leaves five male teachers and we don't even know if they're married or not."

"Let me see that." The registrar had her hand extended and Lassiter returned the schedule to her. She put on a pair of reading glasses. "Well, the only married ones are Professors' Muncie and Bazill." She looked up at them and their confused faces. "When you've worked here as long as I have, you learn certain things."

Shawn leaned over the desk and smiled at her. "You wouldn't have heard about one of them having an affair, would you?"

She pursed her lips and took stock of him. "I have heard rumors about Bazill. The Board investigated him a few times for fraternizing with his students before."

Thanking her, they all rushed out the office and made their way across the quad. The lady had given them directions to his classroom and the faculty lounge in that wing. The students had made it to their next classes by then and it was only a few minutes to the other side of the campus where Vick and their back-up had pulled up. The halls were clear and all that could be heard was the sound of all their shoes hitting the tile.

They passed the faculty lounge first and burst in, scaring the crap out of two of the teachers. Not seeing any sign of Bazill, they ran to his classroom. A few people peered out of the classroom doors at what sounded like a stampede through the hallway. They finally made it to Bazill's room and Shawn stopped to rub the stitch in his side as Carlton and Jules opened the door.

"Freeze!" Vick, Lassiter, and O'Hara all shouted at Mrs. Newton. She paused mid-stab and looked up in horror at the police filling up the empty classroom. Shawn saw the 'deer in the headlights' look cross her features and knew that she would do anything not to go to jail. Before this became a hostage situation, he moved ahead of the police line and made his way to the woman. Professor Bazill was sweating bullets and was desperately trying to get away from the psycho hose beast holding a knife over his head.

Shawn put up his hands to show he was unarmed. "Look… Uh…" He peered back at Lassiter for help. He didn't get a chance to answer.

"My name is _Marissa_! Is it seriously a trait all men possess that doesn't let them remember a woman's name?" She arched her eyebrow and tightened her grip on the knife.

Shawn shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know rightfully know. I've never really been with a woman long enough to even catch her name. But I _do_ know that if you don't drop the knife and release Bazill there, these police officers will not hesitate to shoot you. And you don't look like a woman who wants to die. You want others like Brice to die, but not yourself."

Her eyes began to dart around the room at the mention of her husband. "You don't know _anything_ about Brice!" She shouted hysterically. She waved the knife at Shawn as he got closer to her.

"Oh but I do." He said calmly, very slowly edging his way toward Marissa. "You swore to never leave his side 'til death do you part. Then you happened to stumble upon him not keeping his vows. He apologized to you, promised to change and make it up to you."

She nodded as he spoke. "He swore he would make me a thousand paper cranes and wish that we could be happy again."

Shaking his head and turning back to Lassiter, Shawn tossed him an apologetic look. "I guess nothing in this world can be considered original anymore." He turned back to Marissa, who still had a death grip on Bazill. He had turned pale and had the air of someone about to pass out from fright.

"So, Brice swore to make things right and you believed him. Took him back in your arms and forgave him. But lo and behold, after every promise he made, you caught him cheating again. And that was the last straw. You decided to kill him and every man who dare to cheat on his wife. And leave those bastards a crane for all the lies your husband told you."

A tear slid down her cheek and she nodded her head. Her grip on the knife slackened. "And, when I ran into you the other day at the art supply store, you took the crane I made you and used it for evil. How dare you?"

Marissa glared at him. "But for all the evil men you kill, more and more pop up. You can't keep this up forever, you know. You'll drown in it." He got to within a foot of her and slowly took the knife from her hand. As soon as she was disarmed, the detectives moved in to cuff her and remove Bazill before he had a heart attack.

**HKHKHKHKHKHKHK**

Sitting on the couch, Shawn flipped through the stations, looking for something to watch. Carlton had called and said he would be late, but it was almost one in the morning. He was tired from all the drama from the day, and just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep. But he knew that Carlton wanted to talk to him, so he fought sleep and tried to find something on the T.V. to hold his attention.

Carlton opened the door and set his briefcase on the table. He looked into the living room, where the television was casting a blue hue on the figure sitting on the couch. He walked over to Shawn and saw that he was asleep. He smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. Shawn jerked awake and peered up and Carlton. "Sorry." He mumbled. "I tried to stay up. But you know how stimulating Bob Ross is."

Laughing, Lassiter sat down next to Shawn. The psychic curled up next to him as he wrapped an arm around him. "It's fine. I'm later than I said I would be." Shawn looked up from his human pillow.

"Marissa Newton will be arraigned tomorrow morning and Professor Bazill was cleared by the hospital, though I don't think he'll want to leave anytime soon." A confused look crossed Shawn's face. "His wife was there when we left and she was giving him the third degree." Shawn laughed and languidly moved to straddle Carlton's lap. He slowly kissed him and ran his hand through his hair.

Shawn broke the kiss a moment later and peered into his lovers eyes. "And Chief Vick?"

Carlton sighed. "She wanted me to convey to you how sorry she is for arresting you, but wanted you to know that in the face of the evidence…" He trailed off and ran his hands under Shawn's shirt, kneading the muscle.

Shawn arched into the touch and moaned softly. "I meant about what you told her."

The kneading stopped and Carlton bit his lip. "She told me that she fully supports us and our decision to keep things quiet. But she's no fool. She knows how they system works when cops come out. She told me my options were to never talk about it and keep up the pretense or come out, face review and possibly spend the rest of my career jockeying a desk." Shawn nodded.

Henry had pretty much told him the same thing when they told him about their relationship. Shawn never wanted for Carlton to have to choose between him and the job, but sometimes shit just happened. The attraction had been there for a while, simmering under the surface of snarky remarks and surly glares. Shawn had finally acted on all the tension between them and asked Lassiter on a date. At first he resisted, but all it took was a kiss and the rest was history.

Another kiss to his lips and Shawn leaned over to whisper in Lassiter's ear and whispered "I love you and I would never make you choose."

Carlton wrapped his arms around Shawn tightly and buried his face in his neck. They pawed at each other for a few moments before Shawn stood up and extended a hand to Carlton. He took it and Shawn began to pull him into the bedroom. Lassiter growled and whispered in a husky voice "I just want to forget all this shit by fucking your brains out."

Shawn arched his eyebrow coyly. "Wish granted."

* * *

Yeah, finally done! And it only took an extended weekend to complete! Now, for those of you who have never encountered my stories before, I like to employ what I call DeMarcos Reckoning (like Shire Reckoning, but without the furry midgets) in my work. From what I understand from the special features on the DVD's, Shawn was 10 in 1985. So by 1988, he would be thirteen, in seventh grade and all about girls. Ten years ago when I was in the seventh grade, all the boys were finally getting over the 'girls have cooties' thing and trying to get a girlfriend. And once DeMarcos Reckoning is in effect, even if I'm told different, I don't care.

Artistic license, bitches!


End file.
